Renan Ferreira has seemingly secured his spot as the first opponent for Francis Ngannou in Professional Fighters League (PFL).
Ngannou, 37, has shifted his focus to boxing since his last appearance in a mixed martial arts (MMA) cage in January 2022. A member of PFL’s roster, Ngannou has been granted the luxury of competing as he sees fit in boxing, which he’ll do for the second time when he collides with Anthony Joshua in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this weekend (Sat., March 9, 2024).
2024 is expected to be the year Ngannou returns to MMA, presumably for a showdown with the most recent PFL Heavyweight titleholder, Ferreira, after the Joshua match. Until then, Ferreira plans to follow in the footsteps of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight contender, Michael Chandler, who has patiently benched himself with hopes of landing his big money fight against Conor McGregor.
“At the moment, we will sit and we will wait,” Ferreira told MMA Fighting. “I’ll get some rest. I’ve been fighting in [PFL tournaments] for three years and it’s very exhausting. I fought in November and had no rest, I had to fight in February already, so my body is tired now. I need some time to recover physically and go back to training, so I’ll be waiting for this fight, quite anxiously. I’m very happy for this opportunity, and I hope it happens soon.”
Ferreira, 34, can’t be blamed for wanting to sit and wait for an expected $2 million payday against Ngannou. The Brazilian giant already earned his first $1 million after winning the 2023 PFL Heavyweight season and surely received a pretty penny in his most recent 21-second knockout of Bellator champion, Ryan Bader (watch highlights). The latter earned him the hopeful opportunity against Ngannou.
Oddly enough, Ngannou was in attendance for the Ferreira vs. Bader bout but never squared off with Ferreira afterward. “La Problema” didn’t expected for the missed opportunity at the pair’s first visual next to each other. Ultimately, he just wants to compete against “The Predator” as soon as possible.
“It surprised me a little bit,” Ferreira said. “I thought he was going to go up there, that we would do the faceoff. I saw he had an uncomfortable smile on his face. I think he felt this is for real, that this is a big problem for him. There’s a guy coming and he’s not fooling around, he’s hungry for the victory.
“[Ngannou] is on this boxing adventure that is opening many doors and I have huge respect for him, but he has a contract with PFL,” he concluded. “Like I said, I’m ready to box him as well, I’m ready to fight him in MMA. Wherever they want, I’ll be ready.”